


Here Is No Why

by Circus4APsycho8



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, BOTH, Choices, Cussing, Dark Magic, Epic Bromance, F/M, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Ghost Hunters, Give it a few chapters, Grand Magic Games, Guild Master!Sting, Haunted Houses, Help, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Titles, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Inspired by The Haunting of Hill House, Late Night Writing, Mage!Reader, Mages, Mentions of Suicide, Multiple Endings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possible Polyamory, Reader is a Sweetheart, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Rogue is a sweetheart, Social Anxiety, Sting - Freeform, Strong Female Characters, Supernatural Elements, anime-level fights, eventually, manipulation but not with characters just trippy ass ghosts, neither, not involving reader though, please watch that show it's amazing, rogue - Freeform, takes place a long time after Jiemma got yeeted, uwu, what am I doing with my life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2019-09-23 06:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17075114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Circus4APsycho8/pseuds/Circus4APsycho8
Summary: You met the Twin Dragons at the Grand Magic Games, where you three fought. A few weeks later, you run into them and are forced to solve the mystery of a haunted house together.In all honesty, I don't know why I started this story. I have two other ones I should really be working on but whatever. Also, I'm only halfway through the manga and am currently watching the anime so I know I screwed the timeline up a bit.I also don't know what this story is going to turn into lol.





	1. Risking My Pride

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO!
> 
> Okay, I'd like to start by mentioning that I have not completely finished Fairy Tail nor have I (technically) met Sting and Rogue yet. I know I was hella close but somehow I became obsessed with them and then this happened.
> 
> I think, depending on how this turns out, that this story could go in a few different directions. After you read, I have a survey up if you're interested in following it.
> 
> I also based this fight from many of the ones seen in Fairy Tail. I have a hard time writing them and coming up with an original fight scene so I borrowed a few ideas and put my own spin on them. I don't think they're that noticeable, but if you're like me and have certain FT fights memorized by heart then you'll know exactly which details I'm talking about. 
> 
> Anyways. I hope you enjoy it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (please pretend guild masters are allowed to fight and that they have longer time limits >:) )

**Chapter I - Risking My Pride**

Your heart is pounding, one beat at a time. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath, like Erza told you to do earlier.

_This is it. I can’t let fear drag me down today._

Today’s your day to fight in the Grand Magic Games; today is the first time you will be fighting for this competition. Having only joined Fairy Tail recently, you were beginning to feel more anxious than you ever had before. You had no idea what was going to happen, or who you were up against.

Your hands were starting to shake, you realize as you step up to the door of the arena. You know that your battlefield is waiting just beyond this door.

_I can’t let my opponent see me like this._

You tried not to think about what would happen if you failed, if you were defeated. Unshed tears begin lining up behind your eyes as you grip your fists even tighter. Stars, you were weak – a Fairy Tail mage, about to cry because she was scared to fight! _What a joke. I shouldn’t have signed up._

You hear your name being called by a familiar voice behind you. Turning around, you catch sight of Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Happy, and Master Makarov walking up to you. Forcing your tears away, you try to fake a grin.

They know you’re scared and you hate yourself for it.

Your friends are smiling and waving at you. Erza, however, frowns upon seeing your faux smile. It fades as soon as she glances at you; there’s no point in hiding it anymore.

The scarlet-haired wizard says your name, “I know this is your first Grand Magic Games fight. It’s okay to be scared. You have no idea what to expect, and that’s okay.”

“Yeah!” Natsu agrees, giving you one of his signature smiles, “you’ll do great! I know you will!”

“You just have to give it your best shot. Who cares if you win or lose so long as you do the best you possibly can?” Gray points out. You notice that he’s half-naked again, but don’t comment on it. It makes you giggle, which lifts your spirits a bit.

“And remember that you’re an S-Class wizard, too! There aren’t many people who can beat you!” Lucy states, smiling too.

“Aye, sir!” Happy chimes in. “We’re rooting for you!”

“You just have to get out there and show them what Fairy Tail wizards are made of!” Erza encourages.

Then, somehow, a group hug is initiated. Simultaneously, you can’t really breathe but can still smell Natsu’s ashy scent along with Gray’s weird yet soothing cologne. Not only that, but you get a whiff of strawberry from Erza and – lavender, maybe? - from Lucy. Happy just smells like fish, as per usual. It’s this eccentric combination of smells that would be absolutely disgusting to an outsider yet reminds you of home.

Wiping a tear away from your eye, you smile; this time around, though, it’s much more genuine.

“Thanks, guys. I really needed that,” you admit.

“Remember that you’re a part of our family. A crucial piece, at that,” Makarov states.

“Now, GET OUT THERE AND SHOW THEM WHAT FAIRY TAIL’S ALL ABOUT!” Natsu screeches.

“I’ll do my best!” you promise.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Makarov announces. You’re then shuffled out by Mato, who babbles about rules and all that. You don’t tune in.

You’re all fired up now.

The crowd goes absolutely nuts once you’re outside. You suddenly feel insecure, but automatically shove it away. You have to do this. Your guild is counting on you! You can’t give up now!

It seems as if your competition is already out. Looking up, you see two males, whom you recognize as Sting and Rogue.

You narrow your eyes. Weren’t they both Dragon Slayers from Sabertooth?! Not only that, but you’d heard that duo was powerful as hell.

Once you’re across from them, Mato stops you before walking in between you and the couple.

“Alright, miss! You’re an S-Class wizard – a capable one, at that! And these two are – as I’m sure you’ve heard of – the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth! Now, since this is your first time, we’re giving you a choice – you can fight one at a time or both at once. What’s your verdict, miss?”

You frown. It’d probably just be better to fight both of them at once, even if it’s hard. You’ve heard rumors about these two – they were strong. How would you fare against both of them?

Your magic was one typically unheard of, but not considered a Lost Magic: [sancti-umbrakinesis](https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpowerlisting.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FSacred_Darkness_Manipulation&;data=02%7C01%7C%7Cde55b2c4844e494415e108d6662f06c1%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636808749484974395&;sdata=SIcyVAilt4m85nn5HJ%2B5AOE3FmkZC50cE0sBCghJWNg%3D&;reserved=0), the manipulation of holy darkness. You knew right off the bat that Rogue was going to be a challenge simply because of that. Sting’s magic, you knew, was considered to be ‘holy’ among many. Hm, then that means you need to save your trump card. Eh, but who said you didn’t like challenges? You also notice that they scheduled this fight near sundown on purpose. That would mean once the sun disappeared, you would be at (hypothetical) full strength. That would likely apply to Rogue as well.

“I’ll fight both of them at once,” you answer. Sting seems surprised; Rogue, on the other hand, remains emotionless. The crowd goes wild once more, but among what seems to be thousands of voices, you swear you can hear Natsu screaming at you.

“Alright, then! Our last match of today is (Y/N), the umbrakinetic mage of Fairy Tail against the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth!” You’re secretly relieved that Mato forgot to add the sancti- prefix; that might’ve just saved your skin.

Sting seems to be talking quietly with Rogue; however, Rogue doesn’t seem to be paying attention. He’s focused solely on you, dark eyes studying you intently. You stare right back at him, your previous anxieties having dissipated and replaced with the unwillingness to be intimidated. Even if you weren’t looking at him, you would know he was staring at you. The feeling of those blood-red eyes boring into you is too distinct.

There was something strange among wizards who shared a similar type of dark magic. They had abilities to read each other, to predict movements or spells, to feel each other’s presence. Rogue’s magic was far too powerful for you to interpret and you knew for a fact it was the same way for him with you. Frowning, you tune back in to Mato’s rant.

“You three have a two-hour time limit! The winning side will receive ten points for their guild! Once one side is unable to continue fighting, the other will win! I want a nice, clean fight! You...you hear me?” Mato trails off once he realizes you and Rogue aren’t listening. In fact, your magic is swelling up around you, causing bits of black and orange wisps to swell around you. He responds by doing the same thing, except his is completely black. The sky above the arena begins turning black, the two of you almost inadvertently casting an absolute darkness spell.

You’ve always thought of this as T-Posing in magic. Whoever can seem the most intimidating asserts the most dominance.

And you’re hella determined to win this.

You hear the announcers in the background discussing this occurrence. You simply don’t care; you have one goal and you intend on reaching it, come hell or high water.

“YEAH, (Y/N)! SHOW ‘EM WHO’S BOSS!” comes Natsu’s voice.

The announcer doesn’t even have time to start the fight because you and the other two are already racing towards each other. You swear you could feel your pupils shrink with the adrenaline rush of a fight as you raise your dominant hand, preparing your first spell.

Sting starts off the fight with a spell signature of the typical Dragon Slayer: White Dragon’s Roar or whatever. Bursts of light are chucked your way. You’re able to summon a black-and-orange magic circle before it hits you, though.

Rogue has disappeared: you sense him behind you, chanting underneath his breath. You turn momentarily to deal with this, but in the same time span, Sting sends a punch your way. It’s a doozy, but somehow, you’re able to dodge Rogue’s spell but not the blow. You’re sent stumbling backwards from the hit, but you brush it off. Better a physical hit than a magical one.

Now, it’s your turn to attack: you choose a dark energy assault spell which will (hopefully) cause a bit of damage. Chanting the necessary Latin, you open a magic circle before manipulating the waves of dark energy hidden around the two men. Sting is evidently caught off guard; he tenses at the sight of the nega-ergokinetic spell and is hit. Rogue, on the other hand, easily dodges. You can tell he’s more quick-witted than his partner.

A similar pattern emerges for the next half hour or so; neither group is quite able to grasp the upper hand. It’s only until Sting ends up on your right side and Rogue your other that something happens.

“UNISON RAID!”

They both summon their respective attacks, but this time they’re able to refine it to approach you from both directions. On instinct, you summon two magic circles: one on your left hand, the other on your right. The attacks hit the magic circle roughly, but you manage to hold both circles for quite a while without draining too much energy.

These two are relentless, though.

“Having fun yet, sweetheart?!” you hear Sting call. Something about the pet name rubs you the wrong way. You don’t answer.

“While you truly are an honorable mage, we should end this,” Rogue comments for the first time. They strengthen their blast in an effort to overwhelm you, but you’re not having it.

Focusing your dark energy, you concentrate on using Make magic (which a certain pervy popsicle may or may not have taught you) to cover their blasts. The nice thing about your energy is that it’s hard to see or detect unless you are the wielder. The invisible particles of dark energy gather around the beam of the Unison Raid you’re fending off.

And then, in a matter of a few seconds, you catch them off guard.

“Night Make: HAND!” you shout. In an instant, the particles solidify, in a sense, and grab both beams of energy. From there, you keep a hold on your circles before jumping over the small slope beside you three and flipping upside down before forcefully twisting both circles, their beams, and in turn, Sting and Rogue. The two mages go flying in opposite directions as the blasts vanish along with your circles.

“Night Make: KNIVES!” you yell. Several small combat knives made out of dark matter encompass your figure before you haul them in your opponents’ directions. You smile smugly upon hearing them grunt in pain (especially Sting).

You decide to take this opportunity to use a stronger attack.

Another complex magic circle appears before you, and from it, you summon a raw burst of dark energy before sending it Sting’s way. You know it won’t have any effect on Rogue, so you decide to focus on eliminating the blondie for now.

Rogue is back up on his feet and is already preparing another spell. You notice his cloak is ripped in places; you must have really caught him off guard then.

The two continue blasting Dragon Slayer moves at you. You stay on defense mode for a while before you get tripped up and hurt from one of the attacks. You grit your teeth and keep going.

After a while, they cast some spell that enhances their abilities and you start getting overwhelmed. You don’t have the power to change your body to adapt to the darkness itself; in that way, Rogue has the upper hand. At one point, you are unable to find a chance to attack because they’re going so fast.

_That just means I need more speed!_

After you try to defend yourself against several attacks, you cast an ancient summoning spell to at least distract the two for a moment. A magic circle in the shape of a pentagram appears behind the two Dragon Slayers. Rogue turns to investigate while Sting tackles you to the ground.

“You aren’t going anywhere, beautiful,” he sneers, a playful smirk on his lips.

“Evidently, yes.”

Sting looks up as Rogue starts fending off the demons you summoned. Blondie seems conflicted as to whether or not he should help his companion or keep you down.

You hear Rogue give a frustrated cry before he just sends a powerful dark magic attack sweeping up most of the demons. One, however, eyes Sting holding you down.

Sting groans as it sends a simple attack towards him. Another creeps up behind him. You command it to get him off of you so you can cast a skill-enhancement spell. It works, and you scramble to your feet, hearing blondie release a wave of choice words.

By now, you’ve forgotten that there’s an audience. You hear cheers directed towards you, and as grateful as you are, you have to focus.

Closing your eyes, you open a magic circle beneath your feet. You can tell your adversaries are trying to stop you, but the circle beneath you provides defense until you’re finished casting.

This particular spell was written by you and perfected by Mirajane, the little devil. She rephrased it in such a way that allowed you to temporarily take on the traits of a demonic leader. That meant several aspects of your physical traits were significantly boosted. However, since so much energy was being produced from your body, you knew that you had to comply with the amount of energy your cells could generate in terms of bursts of energy: in this case, ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. The spell itself would only last for ninety seconds max because of this factor. You silently thank you Magics & Biology teacher back in high school.

You begin levitating off the ground, the magic circle fading underneath you. Rogue uses a booster-type spell, and, before you know, the two of you take the fight to the sky.

You spot him above you, so you throw a magic-enhanced punch up towards him. The blow hits him, but also destroys a large chunk of the ground somehow. After that, you’re temporarily blinded. Once you fly out of the debris, still drifting across the air from the momentum you had gained, fist still raised, you stay still and listen for movement.

While you can’t accurately pinpoint his location, you can sense his general area because he seems to have dissipated into darkness. You can feel his aura in the dark energy around you. He’s moving fast, and tries to reanimate himself behind you, but you dodge just in time before feeling the former spell wear off. You begin falling, but are unfazed as Sting suddenly appears. You’re able to grab him and reposition yourself so that you can kick him while falling and attacking with a nega-ergokinetic spell.

The magic circle appears on his chest. His eyes widen before you finish the spell and send bolts of dark energy across the battlefield. They launch themselves in his direction.

You hit the ground roughly, but otherwise relatively okay. These two are doing a number on you, but you refuse to let them win. You will not back down.

Sting’s down; knocked out, it seems. You’re not sure how long that’s going to last, so you cast a simple sleeping spell that only works when your opponent has been temporarily pacified. That’ll keep him out until you’re finished.

“Wow! Sting is out of the match, folks – I repeat, Sting is down! The battlefield is in absolute chaos – with one Dragon Slayer down, the fight’s been narrowed down to both of these powerful dark mages!” you hear the announcer screech. The crowd cheers, and among the blurred faces, you see an unmistakable pop of pink, blue, red, and blonde. You smile a bit before returning your focus to Rogue.

“I fear we underestimated you,” Rogue states. You two are standing across from each other. “I’m not surprised to see that this imbecile has already fallen,” he nudges Sting with his foot. “Nonetheless, the sun is setting.”

“I assume it’s going to amplify your power as well?” you question, placing a hand on your hip.

“Indeed,” he answers. You’re exhausted, but you know he is too, even if he’s hiding it well.

Now, though, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to beat him.

He’s smarter than Sting, you know that much just from the way he fought. How would you be able to outmaneuver him? You’d have to be careful about this.

…

Wait.

_That’s it._

“Contestants, you have an hour of battle left!” Mato yells from the sidelines. You grin.

_Plenty of time._

You knew that you would have to think this through. Suddenly, you’re glad you didn’t use your other magic against Sting.

This magic is the manipulation of holy fire, which was a crucial piece of sancti-umbrakinesis. Since it was a sacred magic, it wouldn’t have worked as well against Sting. But Rogue, on the other hand...his magic was darkness, the shadows: the very thing holy fire was meant to destroy.

You don’t have any more time to think because he has created a magic circle underneath him. His eyes are closed.

“Here we go, folks – the final part of this intense battle! The night will enhance both of their magics!”

You’re not surprised when Rogue conjures many shadow warriors, similar to the demons you’d summoned earlier. Swinging your arms back, you decide to use the Requip magic Erza had taught you. You summon a pair of twin knives, engraved with sacred symbols meant for getting rid of demons and the supernatural. Also known as your specialty.

You engage with hand-to-hand combat against these creatures. You’re immune to their spells since your magic is technically superior to them.

You don’t want to use magic energy if you don’t have to, so you continue fighting off the summons. Your knives prove to be the perfect weapon against these creatures as you continue slashing at their necks and sinking your blades into chests.

You clear them out fairly quickly.

“Not only are you adept at wielding umbrakinesis, but you also specialize in Make and Requip magic. A wise idea,” he comments, a small smile creeping onto his lips. You return it.

“Well, I can’t be completely affixed to one, now can I?” you state.

“Point taken.” He pauses. The sky is getting darker and darker as you two speak.

“Oh boy – with an hour left of battle along with a setting sun and two formidable mages of darkness readying for who knows what, we’re bound to see quite the light show!” the announcer yells.

Once more, a steady quiet falls upon the battlefield. The only sound is the slight breeze drifting through the arena as the two of you wait for dusk to fade to complete black.

The sky turns orange.

Then gets dark

darker

yet

 

d

a

r

k

e

r

 

And, once the night has fallen?

Rogue’s eyes flare red, and yours dark orange.

He starts off the new phase of this exhaustive battle with a three-tier magic circle attack aimed horizontally. His magic circles are no longer solid black, but have bits of dark red intertwined with its pattern. Smirking, you counter the attack with a spell of your own.

“Chaos, chaos!” you murmur, a circle forming in front of you as you jump in the middle of the attack and send a blast of your own. Your magic protects you from the dark mage’s attack.

Closing your eyes as the darkness envelops you, you cross your arms in the shape of an X, holding two fingers up on each hand.

You channel the rest of your dark magic into casting a powerful dark spell. You had memorized the Latin in preparation for a moment like this:

_“Iubeo tibi redire ad ubi ventus es. Arcesso caeleste iuvare ego in reversio huius impuritae!”_

Silver, glowing symbols appear on your arms, stomach, forehead, neck, and legs as you swing your arms outward and let the spell rage. It overpowers all three of Rogue’s magic circle and barrels towards him. You hear him grunt before opening your eyes.

_Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!_

Parts of his outfit are completely torn or burnt up. A bit of blood is dripping down the side of his face. He doesn’t seem mad, though: in fact, it’s like he’s more impressed than anything.

“That’s a rare spell,” he notes, a tinge of (was that envy?) in his tone.

You chuckle. “I know. It was difficult to learn, but completely worth it.”

“I see.” He extends his arms before smirking and recasting that ability-enhancing spell. “I suggest we end this now since we’re approaching our time limit.”

“Sounds good to me.”

You immediately summon your holy fire and wrap it around your wrists, similar to how Natsu would on occasion. Your sight isn’t an issue, since you’re a mage of darkness and have night vision, of sorts, so you see Rogue just fine. That is, until he vanishes into the shadows.

“She’s a fire mage too?!” You hear someone yell from the stands.

You know if you were too careful, Rogue would be able to tell you were up to something. In order for this to work, you would have to get him either annoyed or angry. It may prove to be a challenge, but hopefully the results would be worth the risk.

Plus, you were around people who were very annoying and angry on a daily basis.

“I’m all fired up!” you yell, earning a distant screech from Natsu. You know Rogue won’t react, but you can tell from the slight shift in the darkness around you that he’s not a fan of this. You start firing out all the fire puns you can muster before he appears beside you and engages you in hand-to-hand combat enhanced with his darkness-enveloped fists. You’re able to keep up with him while also spraying your fire everywhere. He’s fast and addresses his technique with finesse, but your moves aren’t as formal and are much more unpredictable. You know that’s why you can hold your own against him. While you’re distracting him with the combat, you discreetly place invisible magic circles in a specific pattern on the ground, making sure to keep him within a close range of them.

A few hits and burns later, you’ve accomplished your goal. Mustering the last of your strength, you push him back before flipping out of your magic circle pattern.

It was then Rogue realized his mistake.

You chanted a Latin spell that allowed the flames of holy fire to jolt up around him, effectively trapping him. If the fire weren’t holy, you knew it wouldn’t have affected him. But holy fire beats anything that’s dark. Even better, you’d arranged the fire’s pattern in the shape of Fairy Tail’s symbol.

“This fire...it’s...sacred,” he comments, the light of the flames revealing his face. He tries casting spells to break it, but he can’t do it.

“Holy fire beats anything dark, even Dragon Slayer magic!” you chirp, unable to stop smiling.

Rogue’s eyes widen.

“WE HAVE A WINNER!” the announcer screeches, causing the crowd to go wild. “(Y/N) (L/N) of Fairy Tail has single-handedly defeated the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth, earning ten points for her guild!”

“We’ve lost...” Rogue murmurs.

“I...I did it!” you say suddenly, the realization falling over you.

You won. You put Fairy Tail back in the lead!

You beat your anxiety and managed to take them down! The Twin Dragons! You feel a surge of pride swelling in your chest as you think on that.

Before you know it, your team is at your side. Natsu and Gray are on the field, lifting you on their shoulders while Lucy and Erza are cheering wildly. You see Juvia, Levy, Cana, Mirajane, Gajeel, Freed, Master Makarov...everyone!

“THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” Natsu screeches. You laugh.

“AYE, SIR!”

“WAY TO GO!”

“(Y/N), I COULD KISS YOU RIGHT NOW!”

You feel tears pool in your eyes as you laugh and look around. Rogue is gazing at you with a slight smile on his face. You remember them and hop down from Natsu’s shoulders, walking towards the Shadow Dragon Slayer.

You wave your hand, putting the fire out. Then, you remember Sting and close your eyes, lifting the sleeping spell.

And sure enough, a few moments later, the blonde-haired Dragon Slayer approaches the field, eyeing Rogue, you, and your team.

“Did...did we lose?” Sting questions, frowning.

“Yes, and rightfully so,” Rogue responds, folding his arms.

Sting claps his partner on the back. “Well, we tried. I knew we weren’t going to win. Hell, I knew even if we could, it wouldn’t have been me who beat her.”

“You two were a challenge, though,” you admit.

“And that in itself is a victory for us. To be considered a challenge by you,” Rogue states.

Then, after that, your exhaustion settles in your body: everything hurts. You’re completely out of magic power. Your legs are wobbly, and before you can fall, you’re caught by a familiar pink-haired Salamander.

“You were awesome out there,” he mumbles, giving you his signature smile. You laugh tiredly before squeaking slightly when Natsu bends down and slides his arm under your knees and picks you up bridal style. Sighing in content, you wrap your arms around his neck, enveloping your senses with his ashy scent.

“I know you’ve gotta be tired. C’mon, let’s get you patched up.”

“We knew you could do it!” Happy cheers, flying beside you.

With your family surrounding you, you catch one last glimpse of Sting and Rogue. They’re standing together, but they catch sight of you peeking over Natsu’s shoulder. You give them a shy smile.

They return it.


	2. Kizuna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GMG Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I'm thinking this will become reader-interactive lol. Survey's still open though --> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9CZHLB5
> 
> And I had to rewrite most of this chapter bc I messed some stuff up. I hope it's okay now though

 

 **Chapter II -** **Kizuna**  

A few days after the fight, you were starting to walk around again. Once Natsu arrived at the infirmary, he’d laid you on a bed only to see you had already fallen asleep. With a light chuckle, he stepped out to talk with the others. 

Lucy told you that you’d slept for two days straight. You were a bit hesitant to believe her, but after considering the amount of magic you’d expended during the fight, it seemed logical. You were covered in bandages but you couldn’t be happier. Your team came to visit you a few times per day as you recovered your strength. 

After five days of recovery, Gray was helping you stand up. 

You stifle a yawn as Gray slings a hand around your shoulders to support you. “Who’s fighting today?” you question, mind a tad foggy as you stand. 

“No one. It ended yesterday with Erza’s fight, remember?” the ice mage responds, pulling you up. 

“Oh yeah! I forgot. How did she do, by the way?” 

“How do you think?” he replies with a slight smirk. 

“She completely obliterated everyone and everything standing in her way.” 

“Yep. It was awesome,” the stripper comments, leading you outside. “Today we have the ball, guild party, or...whatever.” 

“Ah. Are you going with Juvia?” you ask. 

He sighs. “Seems so.” 

Giggling, you take his arm off your shoulder. “I think I can walk by myself.” 

“You sure? I don’t mind helping.” 

Nodding, you wait until you’re steadier to begin stepping again. 

“Suit yourself. That reminds me - Erza and Lucy told me to tell you that they’ll be getting ready soon.” 

You groan. “I don’t even have a dress...” 

Gray only shrugs. “I’m pretty sure they went shopping earlier. They’re in the girl’s dorm, if you’re interested. I have to go catch up with Natsu...” he sighs. “You sure you don’t want me to come with you?” 

“Positive. Catch you later, Frozone,” you tease, turning a corner and cackling as you hear him scoff. 

… 

Upon opening the room to the girl’s dormitory, you hear Lucy and Wendy chatting. When you step inside, they go silent. 

“About time,” Erza begins. “We’ve been waiting!” 

“I know, I know. But I’m here now,” you answer. 

Then, before you know it, you were surrounding by the women of Fairy Tail.  

“Your battle was awesome!” 

“You should’ve seen the look on Sting’s face!” 

“You kicked ass out there!” 

“Hey, ladies, give her some space,” Mirajane calls with a sweet smile. 

“Juvia had no idea you were so powerful!” calls the water mage. 

“Uh, thanks guys...” you say awkwardly. 

“Those two idiots took the loss better than we expected,” Erza notes, turning to you and raising an eyebrow. 

“I noticed that,” you respond. 

“I guess you would, after a defeat like that. You were, uh, pretty scary. Especially with the beginning standoff with Rogue,” Lucy comments. 

“And, the end, when you trapped Rogue in a fire shaped like our guild symbol!” Wendy pipes up. “That was so inspiring!” 

Lucy smiles, shuffling you to a bathroom. “Anyways. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about all this. We have your dress hanging up in there. Once you’re done, I’ll summon Cancer and we can do our hair!” 

You giggle. “Thanks, everyone.” 

You’re met with a chorus of ‘no problem’s and ‘of course’s before you close the bathroom door. 

... 

After taking a thoughtful shower and squeezing into your stupid dress, you take a look at yourself. Ick, you don’t like it! Regardless, you open the door and step out. 

“Finally! You look cute!” Lucy compliments. You feel your cheeks heat up and look down. 

“Th-thanks,” you mumble. 

“Now, I can do this.” Lucy detaches Cancer’s key from her ring. “OPEN! Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!” She swings the key horizontally, then vertically before a magic circle is opened and Cancer is standing before you all. 

“What kind of hairstyle would you like today? -eb-choki,” Cancer corrects himself after seeing Erza standing next to you. 

“We have a larger request today,” Lucy states, smiling while glancing at the group. 

… 

You don’t why, but you think you would rather take on every dark guild in existence rather than stand in the corner awkwardly in a ball gown. 

For whatever reason, socializing with people scares the hell out of you. You wish you could just disappear! Almost every guild is here, too... 

 _And that’s a lot of people._  

A little flash of pink catches your attention, however. You turn to see a cute little Exceed waddling towards the open doors which lead to a balcony. Curiosity spiked, you decide to follow. 

The little cat stops once he reaches the ledge. 

“Hello?” you ask, kneeling down but giving him some space. 

He stops and turns to see you, blinking twice before he says something. 

It was then you realized the poor thing was about to cry. 

“F-Fro is lost,” he says. “...needs...help...” 

You frown, feeling your heart break as you gently scoop the Exceed into your arms. “Don’t cry! I’ll help you! Who’re you looking for?” 

The Exceed looks up at you before saying: “Rogue-kun...” 

Rogue? So, this is his exceed? That’s...that’s adorable. You feel yourself blushing at the thought of approaching the Twin Dragon Slayers again. 

“I know him. What’s your name?” you question, clutching the Exceed to your chest as you prepare to enter the room again. 

“Frosch,” he responds quietly, snuggling up to you. The poor thing is shaking! 

“That’s a cool name,” you comment. Hm, where would Sabertooth be? 

You try looking around the ballroom, spying your friends hanging out with some of the other guild members. Erza is towards the middle, dressed in her pretty red and purple dress and talking with Kagura of Mermaid Heel; Natsu and Gray are nowhere to be found. You sigh, knowing you’ll have to face your anxiety if you’re going to get this cute little exceed back to where he needs to be. 

Suddenly, a pop of blonde hair catches your eye. At first, you thought it might be Lucy, but after seeing the familiar spiky hair, you recognize him as none other than Sting. He's dressed in a fancy white, blue, and gold suit, earring still sported on his ear. 

You didn't notice it during the fight, but now, you realize... 

 _He's actually really cute?????_  

You inwardly groan as you approach him 

“Um...excuse me?” you ask, feeling your shyness take over.  

He pauses before turning around. He's carrying two champagne glasses along with a bottle and smiles upon seeing you. 

"Hey, it's you!" he chirps, seemingly much more upbeat. 

"Hi," you start, trying your best not to stutter. "I, uh...found this little guy outside. He said he was lost." 

His blue eyes widen. "Ah, Frosch..." he chuckles. "I'm sure Rogue's gonna tear the place down trying to find you. He's probably outside by now. Here, I'll walk with you." 

"Oh, you don't have to..." you mumble. 

"I know, but I wanna." He sets the glasses down on the table before you two start walking outside. 

"Alright. Thank you,” you reply, turning and sighing in relief. Albeit a bit awkward on your part, that wasn’t too bad. Exhaling, you step outside and look around.   

"Cold," Frosch mumbles, snuggling deeper into your arms. Your heart sinks as you try to cover him as best you can. 

"I can smell him. He's towards the back," Sting announces, walking ahead of you. You follow him as you two search the perimeter. 

 The night breeze flutters your dress slightly. Shivering, you begin searching the perimeter for the Shadow Dragon Slayer.  

 Honestly, after the fight, you didn’t think you’d get the chance to talk to either of them again. You didn't even think the King would host a banquet after everything. 

 Your thoughts are interrupted when you hear a panicked voice in the distance.  

 _“FROSCH!”_  

"There we go," Sting mutters, jogging forward. "Hey man, chill out. He's right here." The blonde dragon slayer gestures to you once you approach the two. 

Rogue appears to be extremely frustrated, his expression proving that in a stark contrast to his typically emotionless demeanor. Standing next to him is another exceed, although this one has dark red fur and wide eyes. 

“Rogue!” Frosch cries, leaping from your arms. Rogue freezes before his eyes widen. 

“Frosch! There you are! What have I told you about leaving?!" 

“Fro...Fro is sorry!” he cries as Rogue picks him up and cradles him. The dark-haired mage smiles a bit and closes his eyes.  

“How could I ever be mad at you?” he mumbles, hugging the exceed. Beginning to feel awkward, you start walking back, arms folded in an attempt to warm yourself. You hope they won’t notice you inching away - 

“Hey, isn’t she the chick you guys fought?” the other exceed questions. 

“Sure is,” the blonde-haired wizard replies, grinning. “Hey, come back!”  

Rogue releases Frosch before looking at you. “Thank you for bringing Frosch back to me.”  

“Oh, uh...n-no problem!” you stutter, knowing your face is red at this point.  

The dark mage’s smile fades. "You must be freezing..." 

"Yeah. If we could, we'd give you something to cover up with," Sting adds, grinning sheepishly. 

“Oh, I, uh...appreciate the thought, but I'm really okay," you say, turning around. 

Sting must have caught sight of your blush, much to your dismay.  

“You’re shy,” Sting notices, smiling. “That’s cute as hell. You kick our asses on the battlefield but get flustered when people do nice things for you. What happened to all that confidence you had out there?" 

You hate being called cute! “I’m not cute!” you say, scoffing.  

“You’re right. You’re adorable!” Sting counters, cackling.  

“Fro thinks so too!”  

“Sting, do you really think you should be irritating the woman who knocked you unconscious?” Rogue questions, glaring at his partner. 

“That’s true. Beat me all you want, but you’re still cute!”  

You’re not going to give in to him. Huffing, you start walking back outside. 

“C'mon guys, we should be gentlemen and escort the lady inside, even though she can obviously take care of herself.”  

You silently continue as the other four follow you and fold your arms together as the wind picks up, effectively messing up your hair and caressing your dress. 

Sting ends up passing you and holds the door open for you. 

"Th-thank you," you mumble, stepping inside. 

"You're welcome," he states as you five pile inside. The entrance is quiet as the five of you glance around the ballroom. A few moments later, Sting's name is called. 

"Ah, should probably see what he wants," the dragon slayer states quietly, seemingly somewhat disappointed. "I'll catch up later." His exceed goes with him as he jogs off into the crowd. 

Biting your lip, you return your gaze to Rogue, who seems a bit conflicted at the moment. You two are silent, listening as the next song for fancy dancing is about to draw to a close.  

 "Rogue?" Frosch speaks up suddenly, looking up at his partner. 

"Yes?" 

"Can we go dance together?" 

Rogue's face erupts in a color matching his current outfit. "W-what?!"  

Frosch looks up innocently. "Can we all go dance? This song sounds pretty!" 

You notice that the orchestral group is playing 'Air' by Johann Sebastian Bach. 

"You like Bach, Frosch?" you question, smiling a little. He nods. 

"I like dancing, too!" 

Rogue sighs. "Sure, Frosch, let's go." He picks up said exceed but pauses once Fro looks back at you. 

"Can (Y/N) come too?" 

The mage freezes. You giggle at his evident awkwardness. 

"Uh...only if...she wants?" he eyes you, as if silently asking. 

You feel your heart flutter at the invitation. At first, you want to say no, but one look at Fro's pleading face changes your mind in an instant. 

"You don't have to, if you'd r-rather not," he says suddenly. "I just thought, since Frosch-" 

“O-oh, no, I, um...” you sigh, forcing yourself not to stutter. “I would love to, but I’ve never danced like that before...” you eye the ballroom dancers nervously.  

He seems to calm down a bit. “Frankly, I haven’t either. We’ll figure something out,” he smiles again, and for some reason, you get the feeling that he doesn’t usually smile a lot.  

You feel Rogue hesitantly grasp your hand before pulling you towards the dance floor. Your heart begins hammering in your chest as you’re tugged along. What if someone from your guild sees you?!  

Once you three find a spot, he looks around before Frosch climbs onto his shoulder. Rogue, on the other hand, seems completely lost as to what to do next. 

"Um..." He looks around, his face flushed as he desperately tries to copy the other dancers' position. He ends up cautiously settling one hand on your waist and uses his other one to take your right hand.  

“Is this alright?” he asks, voice lowered as Fro stands and starts waving his arms around. 

 “Y-yeah,” you answer, mind beginning to race. What the hell do you do with your other arm?!  

 He lifts his hand from your waist before delicately moving your left arm around his neck, having sensed your conflict. Replacing his hand on your waist, the two of you are silent as you start swaying together. It takes a while, but eventually, a suitable rhythm is established. Your movements are slow and steady as to not throw the dancing exceed off balance. 

 “You’re beautiful,” he states suddenly, almost making you collapse altogether. He seems to realize what he said as he blinks twice and gets flustered again, stuttering out apologies and 'I-don't-know-why-I-said-that's. You giggle quietly. 

 “You...you really think so?” you mutter. 

He only nods in response, averting his gaze. 

"This might be a little weird, but...could I ask why?" you murmur. 

"Uh...well, not only are you one of the strongest women I’ve met, but you’re also compassionate, intelligent, and empathetic," he explains quietly. "I envy traits like that after seeing a lack of those characteristics from our former guild master. N-not to mention that your magic is absolutely breathtaking.”  

 No one outside of friends and family has ever complimented you like that before. You silently die on the inside while you force out a small ‘thank you’.  

Deciding to change the subject, you ask: “So who’s your new guild master?”  

 “Sting, believe it or not. We ended up defeating our former master, so Sting reformed our guild to focus more on camaraderie rather than power,” he informs.  

 “Wow, that must have been tough,” you muse.  

 “It was, and it nearly killed us, but we pulled through,” he admits with a sigh. “I’m relieved that his reign of terror is over, though. Our newfound liberation allowed us to see who our guildmates truly were without the fear of being punished.”  

“I’m glad to hear it. I was wondering why your guildmates were acting a bit nicer than expected,” you admit. 

Another round of silence ensues as the two of you continue swaying back and forth, back and forth. It’s only now that you realize...  

 _...he’s pretty hot himself._  

With his long, dark hair and piercing red eyes along with his mysterious aura and personality...you let out a small sigh, unable to believe that he’s dancing with you.  

And, judging from his reaction to finding Frosch, you think he’s a lot sweeter than he lets on. You remember seeing him hug the clueless little exceed, causing a little smile to arrive on your lips. The little guy is currently hugging Rogue's head while singing seemingly made-up lyrics to the song that's playing. 

Looking around, you find that Gray has given in to poor Juvia's antics and is dancing with her. You silently cheer her on; ever since you met the two you've shipped them.  _Hard._  Gray catches your eyes and spots you with Rogue. The ice mage winks at you with a smirk, causing you to scowl silently. 

The song ends before you know it. Rogue slowly releases you, causing you to take a step back.  

“Um...” what are you supposed to say?! “Thank you. I, ah...enjoyed that.”  

“I did too..." Another one of his adorable, small little smiles appears on his face. “I suppose I should th-” He’s cut off by the yelling of your name.  

You quietly groan upon hearing Natsu yell your name. Where the hell did he come from?! Shooting Rogue an apologetic glance, you turn to face the hothead.  

“Oi, (Y/N)! You gotta see this! Erza just...” he trails off upon seeing Rogue standing next to you. His face falls, and he’s about to say something before a blur of scarlet appears behind Natsu and drags him away.  

You blink, not quite sure of what just took place before turning back around.  

“Sorry about that. What were you saying?” you wonder.  

“Oh, it’s nothing,” he says. “Thank you for the dance, miss. I should be returning back to Sting to make sure he’s not wrecking the place.” You’re about to reply when a sudden surge of confidence overpowers your anxiety for a moment. 

And a moment was all it took for you to press a gentle kiss to Rogue's cheek. 

 …  

 …  

 …  

 It takes you a second to process what just occurred.  

You blink twice before you run out of the ballroom with a stunned dragon slayer staring at your figure. Pushing your way through the crowd, you head for the balcony as everything starts growing hotter and fainter. 

You’re close to making it before Erza stops you.  

“Oh, uh...h-hi Erza,” you greet, praying she didn’t see that little exchange. You wouldn’t hear the end of it!  

She doesn’t respond, but instead snatches your wrist and pulls you outside.  

“Explain!” she demands once you’re outside.  

You groan.


	3. Hakuryu to Kageryu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's do it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I think I know what I'm going to do this story after getting a little bit of feedback.
> 
> I'm going to make it reader-interactive with three or four different endings, those being:
> 
> \- Sting  
> \- Rogue  
> \- Both (why not at this point lmao)  
> \- Neither
> 
> Your choices in the story will determine which ending you get. Please note that this is going to be my first reader-interactive story, so it'll probably get messy at points. I'll do my best, though. I can also guarantee you that these updates are going to be slow and sporadic, but I'll try to make the chapters a bit longer in order to make up for it.
> 
> That being said, I'm thinking the choices will start up next chapter. I'm still not sure how I'll organize it, but I'll find a way.

A few weeks after your guild arrived home from the Grand Magic Games, you were ready to go on a mission to clear your mind. Not that you hadn’t been enjoying the company of your guild, but you craved the adrenaline rush only a fight would give you. So, here you are, viewing the list of S-Class quests on the second floor of Fairy Tail.

You wanted something fresh, but were willing to try any of them so long as it meant helping people. One in particular caught your attention: there was a picture of a house – no, scratch that – a mansion with a small description of the mission beneath it. 

_Need an S-Class wizard to exorcise this house. For more information, contact me at …._

Your reading is interrupted when Erza slaps you on the back, making you jump in surprise.

“Erza!” you groan, rubbing the spot as best you can. Yep, definitely going to bruise later...

She chuckles. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But you should really take that mission, because I think you’re the most qualified to do it.”

You nod, pulling the sheet of paper off of the board. “Yeah, I think I will.”

It seems as if the redheaded requip mage is hiding something, but you decide to ignore that for the time being.

“Take some time off and have a bit of fun by yourself,” Erza continues with a smile. “It’ll be good for you.”

You two head downstairs after chatting a bit.

“Oi, (Y/N)! Where you heading?” Natsu questions.

“I’m going on a mission,” you reply. “I don’t know how long it will take.”

“Can I come?!” he begged.

“No. Was Galuna Island not enough of an eye-opener for you?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope!” he yells with his idiotic grin.

You sigh. “No. You’re not coming. And if you try to follow me then I’ll kill you.”

Natsu was suddenly much easier to persuade after that.

“Besides, I think I need some time for myself,” you mumble, rubbing your forehead. You loved this guild with all of your heart, you really did – but sometimes it was just too much.

“I get that,” Lucy chimes in, nodding in agreement. “I need to take a breather myself every now and then.”

“Agreed. Well, have fun and be careful,” Erza comments, smiling.

“And if we don’t hear back from you in a week then we’re going to track you down and find you!” Natsu yells as you walk out of the guild hall.

…

You took the train to the small town you were headed to. The mansion itself was not in the town, of course; it was located in the surrounding forest. You had scheduled a meeting with the current owner, who wasn’t living in the house. Even though you know that most civilians hold grudges against the supernatural, you can’t help but feel for the ghosts who were often misunderstood. Most of the time the causes of these ‘hauntings’ was from a ghost who failed to move on to the afterlife, whatever that was. You have a feeling this house isn’t going to be a simple salt-and-burn, though.

You alternate between napping, reading, and writing as the train barrels onward. Once you arrive, you feel sleepy yet refreshed as you step onto the platform. After checking in with your hotel and getting settled in, you find that it’s just about time for you to meet with your client. With a deep breath, you exit the hotel and look around.

After asking someone for directions, you finally find the small house the mansion’s owner lives in. It’s a cute, tiny brick house with a vividly-green lawn and flowers dotting its perimeter. Shifting your backpack to your other shoulder, you knock on the door three times.

Someone opens it up a few seconds later. You see a middle-aged man with long, gray hair and short stubble surrounding his chin.

“Are you the mage from Fairy Tail?” he asks, eyes lighting up.

“I am,” you respond with a cheery smile. “How can I help?”

...

The man begins his story over a cup of hot tea. You have a seat on the small, fluffy couch across from him. The only other noise in the room is the distant ticking of the clock.

The man begins by sliding over a folder to you across the coffee table. “My name is Asahi Sora, but please, call me Sora. This is my research so far. It’s not much, but I hope it’s a good start.” You pick up the folder, placing your cup of tea on the table before flipping it open and listening to his story.

He sighs. “So, it all started when I bought the house, obviously. I fell in love with its design, interior artwork, all that. So, I settled in, and...” Sora trails off. There’s a picture of said house in the folder. He was right; it is a beautiful home. You bet the pictures don’t do it justice.

“At first, it started off slow – like things falling, doors slamming, all that. I could handle that kind of stuff. It was eerie, yes, but still, not harmful. I was planning on turning the mansion into a shelter of sorts – for people who’d fought and been injured in war, for people who were homeless, people who just needed a hand. I thought it’d be a waste or just flat-out selfish to keep such a house for myself. But soon, it became clear that there was something very wrong with it.

“A few weeks later, the reactions started getting much more violent: lightbulbs would shatter, doors would slam even harder, and something...something would bang on the walls. I ended up bringing in a certified exorcist from a church, but that only seemed to tick off the spirits even more.”

Hm. Sounding a bit like a cliché job to you. What catches your interest, though, is the banging. That’s something you don’t normally run across. 

“The priests were severely injured in the process. It was then I realized that, if certified exorcists couldn’t handle it, then who could? After the priests left, I...began to see things. Horrible, horrible things.” He takes a deep breath. “I ended up moving out after that, but I never sold the house off because it needs to be cleansed. I won’t let anyone else get hurt because of it. I beg you – please help me. I’ll pay you double Jewel if I have to, I don’t care! Just please, help me.”

You close the folder. “Twice the pay won’t be necessary, sir. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll start by scouting out the house for a night. But I do have a few questions before I get started.” You pull out a notebook from your bag along with a pen. 

“Ask away,” he states.

“Alright. So, you said that, in terms of activity, the reactions gradually became more and more violent?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Okay. Did you ever take any precautions against the spirits?”

“Actually, I made my room ghost-proof, in a sense. If you’ll look on the map in the folder, I circled it in red. That’s where you’ll likely want to stay if you’re going overnight. I used symbols, salt, bags, and spells, and I was never bothered from the inside.”

You nod, scribbling down your notes. “Noted. While you were there – and if this gets too hard, you don’t have to answer – did the visions pertain to you personally or were they focused on what seemed like strangers?”

He releases yet another heavy sigh. “Oddly enough, it was a bit of a mix. I saw this tall woman with long, dark hair and a red dress in the halls during nightfall. I didn’t recognize her at all. But, I also saw my wife at times – especially when I was fatigued, stressed, or frustrated - who passed a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” you murmur.

“Thank you. I’m sure she’s in a better place now. The spirits would never interact with me, though. I just saw the woman fall, over and over again.”

Hm, sounds like you might have a case of a death echo here. You jot that down.

“And, my last question: were there certain times when you felt the spirits were more active?”

“It seemed to me that the occurrences were random,” he answers. You nod.

“Okay. I think that’ll be a good start,” you say, standing. “I’ll get started right away.”

“Thank you so very much, ma’am! If you need anything, anything at all, then don’t hesitate to tell me! I’ll be here if you need me.”

“I appreciate it. Now, how can -” you trail off as a knock sounds on the door.

“Oh, I apologize. I’ll be right back!” Sora responds, opening the door.

You hear two familiar voices:

“Oi, we saw you needed help with a haunted house?”

“I already have a mage on the case, but I suppose another team wouldn’t hurt so long as this young lady is fine with it. Come in,” he says.

You almost facepalm.

None other than Sting and Rogue appear from the door, along with their cute exceeds.

“It’s you!” Sting yells, face lighting up in delight. “I like you!”

Inwardly groaning, you smile. “Hello, boys.”

“A pleasure to see you again,” Rogue states, Frosch on his shoulder. He tugs on Rogue’s long hair slightly before the dragon slayer sets him on the floor. Your eyes widen as he waddles over to you and hugs your leg, looking up at you.

Your heart melts, and you bend over and pick up the exceed.

“Fro missed you!”

“I missed you and your cuddles too!” you giggle, hugging him. He’s so sweet and warm!

Setting him down, he reclaims his spot on Rogue’s shoulder, who simply smiles at you.

“I hope you don’t mind having some help,” your client speaks, smiling slightly. “I sent the request to a few different guilds since I wasn’t sure if I’d get help in time.”

“I don’t mind,” you say, slipping on your backpack.

“That’s a relief. It’s probably best that you have company, because that house...” he sighs, shaking his head. “It gets to you.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it. Are there any other comments you’d like to add before we get started?” you ask.

“I don’t think so. Oh, yes there is!” he picks up a small bag from the corner of the room. “In this bag are teeny tiny bags filled with different items. Don’t take them out! I’ve already scattered about ten of them throughout the house, but if you’d like, you can place these across the interior perimeter. If all are placed, then they should weaken the spirit’s power. In theory, at least.”

You take the bag and smile. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome dear. Now please, be careful! And here are directions to the house!” He hands you another paper with a map of the land on it. “And, a warning: the spirits there will try to trick you. You’ll see what I mean once you’re there for a while. Keep yourselves hydrated and stay together. Stay in the room I told you about. I’ll be here if you need anything.”

Once the five of you are outside, you turn to Sting and Rogue. 

“Alright, I assume you two need to go through this?” you ask, holding up the folder.

“We will. On cases like this, we like scouting the location out first. So! Where to?” Sting demands.

You sigh.

…

The mansion is...absolutely gigantic. Obviously, that’s no surprise, but you were right – the pictures didn’t do it justice.

“This place is huge!” Sting yells with a grin. “We get to stay here?!”

“Please remember that it’s haunted,” Rogue mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose. You notice that he has a scar across his nose. It’s...pretty hot, actually.  _Scars are so mysterious._

Shaking your thoughts away, you start walking inside. “So, here are my notes so far.” You toss the notepad behind your shoulder, almost hoping you hit Sting with it.

“Woah, I caught it!” he yells.

Damn. Anyway. “I suggest we follow his advice and stay together. Most of the time, at least. In the beginning, it should be okay for us to split up and scatter the bags, but after that we’ll stay together. I have a feeling this house isn’t going to be a cakewalk. What are you guys thinking?”

“I agree. There’s something about this place...I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s...” Rogue trails off in an attempt to find the right words.

“It feels like something’s just wrong,” you finish. You understand what he’s trying to say: another similarity among wielders of dark magic was the ability to sense the supernatural. You couldn’t tell what kind of spirits were here, but it wasn’t going to be easy – especially if the ghosts were well-formed enough to comprehend the fact that there had been a priest here and could do something about it. Smart spirits weren’t fun to deal with.

Your group of five approaches the door before stopping. Sting has fallen quiet, you notice before turning around.

“Sting, are you alright?” you question. Rogue is facing him too while their other exceed is trying to pull Sting out of his daze. The white dragon is staring up at one of the windows, a distant expression implanted on his face.

“What’s he looking at?” his exceed asks. “He never spaces out like this.”

Following his gaze, you step back until you see what he’s looking at.

“...Do you see her?” Sting whispers, his carefree attitude now absent. An eerie silence falls upon your group as you and Rogue try to see what he’s looking at.

You think you know which window he’s staring at, but you can’t see anything in it. However, you do feel a large amount of dark energy gathered in the very window.

“It must be a personal vision. Sting! Sting, snap out of it!” You’re cut short when Rogue just slaps his partner across the face, which gets the job done nicely.

But Sting doesn’t seem to care about the slap. He’s still confused...?

“What did you see?” you mumble. His eyes are wide as he turns to look at you, hand on his cheek.

“I...it was...” You shush him, having heard enough.

“It’s alright. We’ll figure it out soon enough, okay? Stay with us.”

“This case is more serious than I thought. Had I known, I wouldn’t have brought Frosch,” Rogue states, turning around and pushing the door open. You and Sting follow him inside.

…

After that, nothing else interesting had happened. The five of you ended up dividing up the bags and splitting up to scatter them out. You knew separating was a dumb idea, but then again all of you had magic that would prove to be very effective against the supernatural. Not only that, but the sun would be setting soon and you just didn’t have the time to go together. You had received three bags and went to the other side of the house to place them.

The house was far too quiet for your liking. You were used to haunted houses, but there was something just weird with this one. Supposing you’d find out whatever it was after you’d done some investigating, you continued.

Stuffing a bag underneath a table, you stand. Once you meet back up with the guys, your next goal will be to find the saferoom.

You spot Sting and his exceed (whose name you just recently learned was Lector) waiting downstairs. With a yawn, you start down the stairs.

“Heya. Finished?” you question.

“Yeah. Rogue should be about done, too,” the blonde answers with a grin. Ever since the first incident, he’d been quieter, but as time ticked by he was slowly returning to normal. The vision must’ve spooked him more than he liked to admit.

Nodding, you have a seat on the floor. Sting follows your lead, welcoming Lector into his lap. The dragon slayer must’ve eyed the mark on your (m/l), where your guild symbol resided.

“I’m so glad we defeated our old master,” Sting notes, smiling a bit. “Sabertooth was hell with him in charge.”

“Rogue told me about that. I’m glad you’re the new master; you seem like you’d make the perfect fit for a job like that,” you say.

“It’s been awesome! Tiring, and a lot of responsibility, but things are so much better now.” He grins, sighing. “I tried to model it after your guild.”

You chuckle. “Our guild’s absolutely insane.”

He laughs. “Yeah, I know. Honestly, I can’t tell you how many times I almost quit Sabertooth just to go to Fairy Tail.”

“Really? What stopped you?” you ask, curious.

“I don’t know. I guess I was just...dedicated. I couldn’t run away from my guild; I wanted to reform it. I just wasn’t sure how. I saw the way Fairy Tail interacted and I just...just wanted something like that for us.”

“I understand.” You chuckle. “I admire that you didn’t run away.”

His cheeks faintly blush pink. “Really? I always viewed it as me being too weak...too afraid to stand up to Jiemma.”

You shake your head. “I bet it took some serious balls to stand up – hell, to even work with him - to someone like Jiemma. You persevered through it, though, and look what happened. You’re a fucking guild master. And a position like that isn’t easy to earn.”

“Yeah...I guess you’re right. I’ve never thought about it like that, heh. Thanks, (Y/N).”

“I apologize for being so late. We got a little lost,” Rogue says as he walks down the stairs. Sting straightens up, Lector almost asleep in his lap.

“That’s alright. Now, since we’re all back together, I think we shoul-” You’re cut off by a loud dropping noise on top of the staircase. The three of you exchange glances before you slowly start walking up the stairs. A little ball of dark energy is already gathering at the tips of your finger as you inch up towards top.

Once you’ve arrived, you see a mound of the little bags you five had scattered everywhere.

“Seriously?” you mumble. That had taken a while!

“Are those...the bags we scattered?” Sting asks, frowning.

“Yeah. No doubt about it,” Lector says.

“Ah, so that’s how these guys want to play,” you mumble, shaking it off. “Fine. I suggest we get started, boys.” You turn to them. “So, here’s what I propose. Let’s start by setting up in the room our client had. There, you guys can read the files and take a breather. After that, we’ll head out to gather more information and grab some dinner. Sound good?” you ask, looking at them for approval.

“Sounds like a plan,” Sting agrees. “But where’s the room at?”

…

After following the map, you five had managed to find the room. It was pretty big, thankfully, with a desk, closet, bathroom, bed - the works. You set your backpack down next to the desk, throwing the folder on top.

“Yuck, smells like old people!” Sting complains.

“Be quiet. At least we have a room to stay in for free. Besides, it still smells better than you do,” Rogue says nonchalantly.

“Fro thinks so too!” cheers the disguised kitty exceed.

“Hey! I do not smell!” Sting retorts, crossing his arms defensively.

You giggle at their banter, which reminds you of Natsu and Gray’s daily quarrels. You’re feeling the bromance here, too.

“Come on, you two. Let’s go over this quickly,” you say, sitting down at the desk and taking all of the papers out. Spreading them across the table, you feel the Dragon Slayers hovering over your shoulder.

“So, we’ll start with the story our guy told us.” You take a deep breath. “So, he liked the house, bought it, moved in, all that. Cool. He did inform me that he had a dead wife whom he saw in a vision. It seems to me that this house is tainted by both personal and unfamiliar spirits, which makes me think it might be...conscious, in a sense. He said that the occurrences started off slow with things like doors slamming, weird noises, the works. He planned on fixing the place up and turning it into a shelter or something. A while later, the reactions, so to speak, worsened. Things would shatter, doors slammed even harder. But, there was one thing that interested me in the midst of all that cliché horror crap.” You frown. “Something was banging on the walls. After that, he brought in a certified exorcist, who got severely injured in trying to exorcise the place. It was almost like the spirits were just agitated after that, which tells me it can’t be a demon.”

“Why not?” Sting interrupts.

“Demons despise exorcisms. If it was a demon we were dealing with, then the exorcism would have worked just fine,” Rogue answers.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Sting nods. “Carry on, m’lady.”

“So, as if in response to the priest, Sora started to see visions. He didn’t really specify much, but he described something that sounded like a death echo.”

“What’s that?” Lector asks.

“It’s when a ghost is stuck reliving their death over and over and over again,” you answer. “It’s sad to see. But I’m thinking that we should do some more digging before we take action.”

Sting groans. “But I hate researching!”

“If it’ll save our as-” you start saying the word, but eye Frosch gazing up at you sweetly. “If it’ll save our skin, then it’ll be worth it.”

“She’s right, you know,” Rogue agrees. You get the feeling he’s being smug in his own way.

“Shut up, let’s just go!”

…

A few minutes later and your group is out of the house and heading towards town.

“Oi, Sting. You know what your greatest weapon is for cases like this one?” you ask, raising an eyebrow and glancing towards him.

“No, what?” he answers, looking at you curiously.

You smile. “A library card.”

“Are you kidding?!” Sting yells. “Libraries suck!”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Now be quiet and suck it up; research will prove to be very beneficial to us,” Rogue adds, eyeing his friend.

“Yeah!” you chirp before heading inside, not noticing that Sting was gripping Rogue’s arm.

“We’ll catch up, (Y/N)! Lector, Frosch, go ahead with her; we just gotta talk for a second,” Sting announces, pulling Rogue back as they watch you nod and saunter inside with their exceeds.

“What is it?” Rogue demands.

Sting chuckles. “I saw that look on your face. You’re a sucker for chicks who can stand libraries, aren’cha?!”

“Intelligence will always be beautiful. It’s no wonder why women don’t like you.”

Sting rolls his eyes but ignores the comment for the time being. “And I saw you dancing with her at the GMG ball! Face it, Rogue! You like her!”

“Why wouldn’t I? She’s a respectable woman, wouldn’t you agree?” Rogue questions, unfazed.

Sting nearly pulls out his hair. One of the things he hated about his partner was the fact that he was nearly impossible to fluster unless you shoved him close to a cute girl or hit him  _severely_ off guard in an  _extremely_  creative way. “Well, yeah, but-”

“And just because I think that doesn’t mean I have a romantic interest in her.”

Sting points at Rogue, jumping back. “AHA! See, that’s where you’re wrong!” Sting yells. “You’re getting defensive in your own, Rogue-y little way! I know you better than anyone, man! You like her! Romantically! And face it – she's so your type! So man the hell up and ask her out already!” 

Rogue only raises an eyebrow, making Sting want to scream. Damn Rogue and his never-fazed demeanor!

“I don’t even know her that well,” he mumbles, looking away.

“That’s the purpose of dating! To get to know someone!” Sting practically screams. “Just do it already!”

“Or what?” Rogue asks.

Sting grins evilly. “Or I will!”

That shuts Rogue up, and Sting knows he’s gotten to him.

“I’ll do it, Rogue. You know I will!” Sting pressures.

“Damn you,” Rogue murmurs after a moment as he turns and walks into the library.

“I’LL DO IT, JACKASS! DON’T THINK I WON’T!” Sting yells, earning a few stares.

If Rogue didn’t ask you, then Sting would  _gladly_ take you out on a date, he thinks with a chuckle as he followed his partner into the library.

…

You already had a decent armful of books and newspapers that you thought would be sufficient to start with. Laying them down on an empty table, you eye Lector and Frosch walking from the kids’ section. The pink and green exceed was carrying a book.

“Hey guys. What’d you find?” you question, curiosity spiking.

“Fro found a book about butterflies and wanted me to read it to him while you guys work,” Lector answers.

Your heart melts. “Aw, that’s fine. Come sit up here, though, so we can watch you.” You lift the two exceeds onto a nearby table. Lector sits down and opens the book while Frosch lays down next to him and gets comfy.

Then, Sting and Rogue come walking in. You smile at the two as they approach you, noting that Rogue seems annoyed and Sting smug. You can’t help but wonder what they were talking about.

“Sorry, we had to discuss secret Dragon Slayer stuff,” Sting announces, sitting down next to you. Rogue silently slides into the seat across from you, eyeing Frosch and smiling a bit.

“I swear you two have the cutest exceeds,” you remark.

“I know,” Sting replies with a smirk.

You chuckle. “Happy’s cute, but too much of a smartass. Carla’s always judging everyone. Pantherlily is adorable as hell, but dense.”

“We lucked out with ours,” Sting admits, rubbing his neck.

“I don’t know what we’d do if we lost them...” Rogue mumbles. 

“So! What’ve you got here?”

“I decided we should start with the history of the town. I wasn’t able to find records of when the house was built, even after asking the client, but I figured if someone built a mansion in a small town like this then there’d be something on it in the newspapers of the past. If we can find when the mansion was built, then we’ll be able to have a glimpse into what major events were occurring at the time and how it was reflected in terms of the spirit. I’ve found a bunch of newspapers dating from almost a century ago forward. Since there are three of us, we’ll be able to find it fairly quickly, even with these articles being out of chronological order. I hope,” you mumble.

Sting groans. “I hate reading!”

Rogue rolls his eyes and starts dividing the stack of newspapers. “We know. The sooner we finish here, the faster we can take action.”

With that, the three of you start reading and looking for any mention of the house. The library is quiet, with almost no talk aside from the occasional question from Sting. You hear Lector reading to Frosch in the background.

An hour or so later, Rogue finds something.

“Here,” he says suddenly. “This article says that the construction began almost a century or so ago.” He slides the paper towards you. “It mentions the names of the family who built it.”

You spot the caption underneath the folder.

“Ismene and Haemon Rey,” you note. Why do those first names sound so familiar?

“Ismene,” you mumble. “Where have I heard that name?”

“I guess we need to find some more history books,” Sting asks, standing up and heading over to the table of now-sleeping exceeds. Lector is flat on his back with Frosch’s head on his tummy, both dozing away steadily, the book of butterflies long forgotten as it rests beside Lector, its pages open and displaying a blue butterfly. The dragon slayer of light picks up both of the exceeds and cuddles them in his arms.

You yawn, closing the book you’d been perusing. “Yeah. We just need one more book.”

“Could I help with that?” an employee asks, approaching your group.

“Actually, yes. What major events happened in this year?” Sting asks, showing the woman the newspaper.

She goes quiet as she reads the article. “Ah, the year the mansion was built. Quite a while ago. Are you looking for events in terms of local or national news?”

“Either. Just something big that happened. Something big enough that would likely affect a person’s life or culture,” you answer.

“Alright. We have an archive of more newspapers, if one of you wants to come look?” she asks, eyeing each of you.

Sting hands Frosch to Rogue, who takes his exceed and holds him like a mother would her sleeping baby. “You two keep going, I’ll go,” the blonde volunteers before shifting Lector so he’s supported against his shoulder. Sting then follows the lady to the archive.

“I think we should call it a night after this,” Rogue mentions, slightly rubbing Fro’s back.

“Agreed.” You stifle a yawn. “Hopefully, after we sleep, we’ll get more done tomorrow.”

“I think so too.” He glances towards the circulation desk. “Do you think he’ll be able to find what we need?”

“I hope so. We’re putting a lot of faith in him.” You sigh, closing your eyes and laying your head on your folded arms. Today, even though it wasn’t very action packed, had been exhausting. Travel and research don’t mix too well on a mission.

“Hey Rogue?” you ask.

“Yes?”

“Is it true that all dragon slayers get motion sickness?”

“It is. Sting and I felt awful after our train ride. Frosch and Lector had to fly us to our destination at one point.”

You giggle slightly. “That sounds just like Natsu. You can practically see him turn green at the mention of a train.” 

He smiles back, but doesn’t say anything for a while.

It’s weird: you haven’t known these two for long, but for some reason you three just  _work_. You all balance each other out perfectly and work well together.

“Did...did you really enjoy the dance?” Rogue asks suddenly.

You look up at him, face heating up. “I did. I’ve never danced with anyone before.”

He smiles a bit, face red as he rubs his neck. “I did too. Frosch seemed to enjoy meeting you too.”

“He’s so sweet,” you mumble, smiling. “He was about to cry when I found him.”

The black-haired dragon slayer sighs, pressing a small kiss to the side of Fro’s head. “He’s so sensitive. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” He clutches the exceed’s head to his shoulder.

Your heart warms at the sight of the dark dragon slayer cuddling a mound of pink.  _So_ _._ _.._ _cute_ _._ _.._

“Listen, I was-” he’s cut off when Sting drops another article in between you two.

“I found what we need!” Sting says. He’s still a little enthusiastic, but you can tell he’s tired too. Lector is now cradled in his arm.

_Why are_ _d_ _ragon_ _s_ _layers so cute with_ _their_ _e_ _xceeds?!_

“Thanks, Sting.” You look down, realizing that a headache is beginning to blossom in your forehead. “We’ll look at these tomorrow, if that’s alright. I know we’ve all got to be tired.”

Even though you are exhausted, you won’t go to sleep right away. Typically, when you work a haunted house, you set up detection devices throughout the house in order to track the activity, if there was any. You had all of your equipment set up in your little requip space (you always just threw the majority of your belongings in there since you traveled so much) and would set it up later on.

“Yeah. Let’s go. Are we sure we want to stay in the haunted house?” Sting asks.

“If we do, we’ll be able to see when the spirits are most active,” you note.

He sighs. “Fine. So! Where we eating dinner at?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please! I encourage anything from constructive criticism to mindless rambling! I love hearing from you all!


	4. Prelude to Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this chapter marks the first choice!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, you've got your first choice here! I hope you like it.

** Chapter IV - Prelude to Destruction **

You can’t sleep.

Currently, you’re lying awake. The boys had insisted upon giving you the bed while they slept on separate couches. Sting lies snoring gently on his back, arms sprawled and blonde hair messy. Rogue is across the room, on his side facing the wall.

 You didn’t feel comfortable enough to go to sleep just yet.

Something was making you nervous. Something was making you keep your guard up. You hadn’t even bothered to change out of your clothes yet. You could feel the heaviness signature to sleep weighing on your eyelids, but you wouldn’t give in. You had to find out what was wrong first.

Was it because you were in the room with the guys? Maybe – after all, you often took missions alone. But, even when you had to share a room with your other guildmates, you never felt this anxious. You continued to toss and turn for a few minutes, weighing your options.

You really needed to sleep, but lying here trying to force yourself to go to sleep wouldn’t do you any good, either. The others were out cold, you could tell.

* * *

**_What will you do?_ **

_Walk around the mansion (continue reading)_

_Stay in bed (go to next chapter)_

* * *

Decision made, you flip the covers to the side and get out of bed.

Gently opening the door, you think maybe you should look around. There’s no way you’re going to sleep until you know what’s irritating you so badly. Closing the door behind you, you decide to search the other side of the house.

Your exhaustion is slowly replaced with alertness as you quietly make your way through the house. The giant windows emit moonlight to illuminate your path, the shadows of trees bouncing gently throughout the walls. A natural silence greets your ears as you continue walking.

_What’s going on here? I don’t know how I’m going to be able sleep at all during this mission. What is the story behind this place? What are the goals of the spirits?_

“I hope ya don’t kill me, (Y/N), but here I am!”

Whipping around, you see Natsu standing behind you, a carefree grin on his face. You’re instantly suspicious.

_Natsu’s never that quiet._

You know this isn’t real. But...what if _you_ could trick the spirits? There might be something to gain here. This isn’t the first time a spirit has tried to mess with your head.

“N-Natsu?” you say, trying to make yourself sound believable.

“Heya. You aren’t too mad that I followed, right?” he questions, walking up to you.

“In all honesty, I kind of expected it,” you answer, smiling a little. He places a hand on your shoulder. You force yourself not to tense, but notice that the sprits did do a good job at getting the physical details right. His fingertips feel real and rough, like they do in real life.

“What are you doing up so late, walkin’ around in a haunted house?” he asks.

“Couldn’t sleep. Figured I might as well try to figure some stuff out and get a feel for the place.” You throw a convincing shrug into the mix.

Fake Natsu gives a laugh that was too...too _civilized_ to be Natsu. _Far too civilized_. Focusing your magic, you find that his entire ’body’ is composed of encrypted dark energy. You suppose that’s the spirit’s attempt to hide itself from you. Whatever.

“Good idea.”

You’re ready for anything as he presses his hand to your back and guides you through the halls. He directs you to a room with a large, black, spiral staircase. You stop and gaze up at him.

“They say this is where she died,” he says.

“Who?” you question.

He’s behind you now. You can feel him place his arms on your biceps as he lowers his head to speak softly into your ear. “Ismene Rey. She committed suicide here.”

What a surprise – another woman committed suicide. That’s one of the recurring trends you keep finding with haunted houses: something happens to family. Someone commits suicide. It was the same case the other way around too – but you were used to it by now.

You wish you weren’t. People shouldn’t have to feel like the only way they or other people around them can be happy is if they take their own life. It saddened you more than anything.

But the name rings a name in your mind, once again confusing you. _Where have you heard that name?!_

Nevertheless, you act spooked. “Really?”

“Yep. She was on the top of that staircase and then she plummeted to her death.”

_Natsu would never use the word ‘plummeted’._

“That’s awful.” Finally, a phrase you don’t have to fake.

He doesn’t answer for a moment, but steps in front of you and slides his hands down your arms to take your hands in his.

“Why did you follow me?” you ask, wanting desperately to shove him away but holding out in hopes of obtaining more information.

“The guild misses you. Come back home,” he mumbles.

“I can’t. People need our help,” you answer, curious to see his reaction. So, it’s trying to lure you away? That fact just adds to its level of sentience.

“Which brings me to my other point.”

  _Natsu would never ignore someone who needed help._

“Why are you working with people from another guild?” he asks, a tinge of anger in his tone.

_Natsu accepts the fact that other people can change._

“Because. People change,” you say. You’re about to say something about the Twin Dragon Slayer’s previous guild master, but then realize that you’d just be giving information about yourselves to the entity that is likely trying to kill you.

“Not them. They’re Sabertooth. Wizards from Sabertooth never change.”

“You’re wrong.” You didn’t come here to argue with a spirit, so you decide to go ahead and cut it off. “I should get going now.”

You didn’t have to say anything, because the vision was already over. Looking around, you see that he had disappeared. A chill ran down your spine as you began making your way back to your room.

Sleep refused to come to you.

…

Your eyelids were heavy when morning approached, but you could still hear the snores of the other two. Deciding to hold off on going anywhere until they awoke, you opted to sit up and reread the case files. A few seconds later, however, you hear little feet pattering up to the edge of your bed.

“(Y/N)?”

Looking over the edge of your bed, you find little Frosch standing up along with Lector by his side.

“Good morning,” you state with a sleepy grin.

“Morning! Since you’re awake, will you come walk with us?” Lector asks with a smile.

You smile. “Of course. We’ll go grab some breakfast for everyone. Let me just write them a note and we’ll be out of here.”

“Okay!” Frosch replies.

After snagging a brightly-colored piece of notepad paper, you scrawl:

_The exceeds and I went to grab breakfast! We’ll be back soon! : ) - (Y/N)_

Tearing the paper off and placing it in the middle of your bed, you grab your needed belongings and quickly refresh yourself in the bathroom before picking both exceeds up. Frosch immediately snuggles into your chest and warms you up while Lector hugs your arm.

With that, the three of you quickly tread through the house with no issues.

…

“What are you guys doing up so early?” you question.

“Fro always gets up early and waits for Rogue to awake.”

“Ah. What time is that, usually?”

“About eight or so. Sometimes sooner. He’s kinda unpredictable like that because he stays up late reading or writing.”

 _What time is it, anyway?_ “So you wake up at five every morning?”

“Yup! The sunrise is always pretty! Rogue’s room in Crocus has a perfect view from his balcony.”

“Ah. What about you, Lector?”

“Sting usually wakes up before I do, but yesterday was really exhausting for him,” the maroon exceed replies. “We go pick out jobs together and then come back and wait for Rogue and Frosch to wake.”

You chuckle. _So cute..._

“That’s good. But I have to ask... What do your dragon slayers like for breakfast?” you question.

“Rogue will eat anything,” Frosch replies.

“Sting is a lot pickier. He likes most breakfast foods, but he hates eating vegetables.”

“That’s quite fitting,” you mumble. “Okay, let’s grab...”

**[Meanwhile]**

“Ugh...” Sting groans, lifting his head up from the couch and blinking a few times before flopping on his back and rubbing his eyes. “Lector?”

No answer.

The dragon slayer groans before pushing himself off of the couch and looking around. His exceed is nowhere to be found.

“Lector?!” His eyes widen as he feels fear creep through his chest. Turning, he finds Rogue still asleep on the couch. Frosch isn’t here, either. “Rogue! Wake up!”

When Sting’s partner doesn’t respond, the light dragon slayer finds the nearest object (a pillow) and chucks it at Rogue. “Dude!”

“Idiot,” Rogue scoffs, opening his eyes. “What is it?”

“Our exceeds are gone!” Sting yells as Rogue throws the pillow back.

“Is (Y/N) gone too?”

“Yeah! Oh damn...what if they got kidnapped by a demon ghost or something?!” Sting panics.

“Look on the bed, you moron. She left a note.”

“Oh,” Sting mumbles, chuckling. Rogue rolls his eyes before laying down once more.

“I figured Lector and Frosch would want to go out for a walk this morning, and I heard her get up a few hours ago.”

“Oh,” Sting repeats. “She said they all went to go get breakfast.” He grins, holding the note up. “Hey, she drew us a smiley face!”

Rogue doesn’t respond, but Sting knows he’s smiling.

**[continue reading at Chapter 6 once it’s published]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As you can see, I'm going to go all out with this!


	5. Choice 1 - Stay in Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read chapter 4 yet, then do that or else this won't make sense!

No. Separating was always a bad idea – especially since the other two people you could count on were asleep. With a sigh, you snuggle back under the blankets. Maybe you can at least close your eyes for a moment...

You're able to drift off into a light slumber, thankfully.

...

"(Y/N)?" calls a sweet voice. Fro watches as your eyes flutter slightly before you shift and roll over.

"Hey, you need to wake up. We have a situation!" Lector states, jumping lightly onto your shoulder.

"Huh..." you mumble, eyes opening.

"Something's happening! Fro is scared!"

You sit up, rubbing your eyes. Upon blinking a few times, you see Sting up and confused.

"What's happening?" you ask, uncovering yourself.

"Sora was right about the banging," Sting answers, looking around. "Rogue's trying to find the source of it as we speak." The white dragon gestures to his partner, who is currently in a meditative position on the floor. "Once he finds it, we'll be able to gather more info about what, exactly, it is, and where it's coming from. It might provide us with some useful information."

Then, it happens again.

_**BANG** _

_**BANG** _

_**BANG** _

Three consecutive hits originating from outside of the room. You frown, tossing the blanket aside before standing and walking over to Sting.

Lector and Frosch remain on the bed with the pink exceed clinging to his friend, both with wide eyes.

A brief intermission of silence ensues before it happens again, and again, and again – all in different locations.

"Sting! What's happening?!" Lector yells.

"I don't know!" Sting retorts.

"Stay with them. I'm going to help Rogue," you reply, walking over to where Rogue is. His bangs have been brushed aside and his eyebrows are furrowed. You can see bits of sweat beading on the side of his forehead.

_He's having trouble._

You sigh, kneeling and taking both sides of his face into your hands.

You're interrupted by Sting grabbing your right shoulder. You turn to him.

"Be careful, okay?" he says, his pale, blue eyes narrowed.

You nod.

Closing your eyes, you bring your forehead to Rogue's and chant a few Latin words before pausing.

You feel your body stiffen immensely before a sharp pain emanates from within your chest. Gritting your teeth, you ignore the agony swimming inside you as you press on with the spell, having experienced its side effects multiple times.

Before you know it, the pressure is lifted and you feel weightless. Your senses of touch, smell, and taste have been temporarily removed, and your body is now a silhouette.

In this form, your darkness magic is quadrupled, but you cannot harm or be harmed in this form. The point of this apparition is for reconnaissance stuff. You can't be seen by the naked eye, either.

Transforming yourself entirely into a shadow, you zip out of the room and fly through the house, following the miniscule trail of magic he left behind.

The areas surrounding you become a blur as you fly through the house, feeling an overwhelming presences of darkness gathered at one location.

_Found something._

…

**[Meanwhile]**

Sting sighs, glancing at your unconscious body. After you had casted the spell, you'd fallen backwards, causing him to catch you.

He gently rubs your cheek with his gloved hand, taking a moment to admire your features and listen to the soft breaths escaping your lips.

"Are they going to be okay?" Lector asks, walking over to Sting with Frosch by his side.

"They're going to be just fine. You know they're both strong. They'll be alright," Sting reassures, but Lector catches the miniscule hint of doubt hidden behind his sincere tone.

"Fro thinks so too!"

Stings nods, shifting you to one arm and extending his other for the exceeds to jump on. He brings them in for a much-needed hug as they attempt to drown out the banging.

…

As you approach a hallway you haven't explored yet, you slow down, letting your phantomlike body stop flying and stand.

A door blocks the way to the ball of energy you're sensing.

_Okay, I haven't done this in a while._

Taking a few steps back (and feeling slightly unnerved when you don't feel the ground underneath your feet), you begin dashing forward and end up phasing through the door.

"Still got it," you murmur before having a look around.

As you had predicted, there is a mass of magic gathering around something.

You decide it's wiser to stay silent as you creep around the mass and look for Rogue. Holding your (currently-nonexistent) breath, you slowly walk forward. It looks like the darkness is just a big sputter of ink, attached to the walls and floor.

"Rogue...?" you whisper, furrowing your ghastly eyebrows.

"(Y/N)?"

Turning around, you see another figure enveloped in red. Just from judging his general stature, you can see that it's Rogue in his phantom-shadow form. He stands in wisps of his magic, entirely translucent.

"You have a form like this, too?" comes his voice. He's not necessarily talking, but you can hear his voice in your head.

"Yeah. I just came to help you out. You looked like you were having trouble."

"Oh," he trails off. "I'm alright. I ran into trouble, but I was able to take care of it fairly quickly, though."

"Good. Sting was getting worried, I think," you mumble.

"That moron," he sighs. "Well, we've located the source of the darkness. Let's head back, shall we?"

And with that, the two of you fly back to the room.

… 

"(Y/N)?"

Eyelids heavy, you groan slightly as your eyes crack open to see a concerned, blonde dragon slayer staring down at you with wide, blue eyes.

"Sting?" you mutter. "What… Why are you holding me?"

He chuckles nervously, closing his eyes as he grins. "After you casted that weird spell, you kinda passed out, so I caught you. I didn't do anything weird. I promise on the honor of a dragon slayer."

"Fro wants to know if you are okay!" Frosch says, now being held in Rogue's embrace.

You smile, rubbing the back of his head as Lector waddles up beside Frosch. You don't exclude the maroon-colored exceed and end up cuddling both exceeds.

You don't even notice that you're still laying down in Sting's lap with both dragon slayers blushing ever-so-faintly at your interaction with their best friends.

A few minutes later, Sting loops his arm underneath your knees and picks you up with the exceeds on your stomach. He gently places you on the bed.

"Sounds like the banging finally subsided. Get some sleep. We'll go check out that room, okay?"

…

Your eyelids were heavy when morning approached, but you could still hear the snores of the other two. Deciding to hold off on going anywhere until they awoke, you opted to sit up and reread the case files. A few seconds later, however, you hear little feet pattering up to the edge of your bed.

“(Y/N)?”

Looking over the edge of your bed, you find little Frosch standing up along with Lector by his side.

“Good morning,” you state with a sleepy grin.

“Morning! Since you’re awake, will you come walk with us?” Lector asks with a smile.

You smile. “Of course. We’ll go grab some breakfast for everyone. Let me just write them a note and we’ll be out of here.”

“Okay!” Frosch replies.

After snagging a brightly-colored piece of notepad paper, you scrawl:

_The exceeds and I went to grab breakfast! We’ll be back soon! : ) - (Y/N)_

Tearing the paper off and placing it in the middle of your bed, you grab your needed belongings and quickly refresh yourself in the bathroom before picking both exceeds up. Frosch immediately snuggles into your chest and warms you up while Lector hugs your arm.

With that, the three of you quickly tread through the house with no issues.

…

“What are you guys doing up so early?” you question.

“Fro always gets up early and waits for Rogue to awake.”

“Ah. What time is that, usually?”

“About eight or so. Sometimes sooner. He’s kinda unpredictable like that because he stays up late reading or writing.”

What time is it, anyway? “So you wake up at five every morning?”

“Yup! The sunrise is always pretty! Rogue’s room in Crocus has a perfect view from his balcony.”

“Ah. What about you, Lector?”

“Sting usually wakes up before I do, but yesterday was really exhausting for him,” the maroon exceed replies. “We go pick out jobs together and then come back and wait for Rogue and Frosch to wake.”

You chuckle. So cute...

“That’s good. But I have to ask... What do your dragon slayers like for breakfast?” you question.

“Rogue will eat anything,” Frosch replies.

“Sting is a lot pickier. He likes most breakfast foods, but he hates eating vegetables.”

“That’s quite fitting,” you mumble. “Okay, let’s grab...”

**[Meanwhile]**

“Ugh...” Sting groans, lifting his head up from the couch and blinking a few times before flopping on his back and rubbing his eyes. “Lector?”

No answer.

The dragon slayer groans before pushing himself off of the couch and looking around. His exceed is nowhere to be found.

“Lector?!” His eyes widen as he feels fear creep through his chest. Turning, he finds Rogue still asleep on the couch. Frosch isn’t here, either. “Rogue! Wake up!”

When Sting’s partner doesn’t respond, the light dragon slayer finds the nearest object (a pillow) and chucks it at Rogue. “Dude!”

“Idiot,” Rogue scoffs, opening his eyes. “What is it?”

“Our exceeds are gone!” Sting yells as Rogue throws the pillow back.

“Is (Y/N) gone too?”

“Yeah! Oh damn...what if they got kidnapped by a demon ghost or something?!” Sting panics.

“Look on the bed, you moron. She left a note.”

“Oh,” Sting mumbles, chuckling. Rogue rolls his eyes before laying down once more.

“I figured Lector and Frosch would want to go out for a walk this morning, and I heard her get up a few hours ago.”

“Oh,” Sting repeats. “She said they all went to go get breakfast.” He grins, holding the note up. “Hey, she drew us a smiley face!”

Rogue doesn’t respond, but Sting knows he’s smiling.

**[continue reading at Chapter 7 once it's published]**


	6. Mahou Hatsudou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ;D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your kind comments so far!

"Good morning, boys!" you chirp as you, Frosch, and Lector walk into the room to find Sting sitting near the desk and Rogue still laying down on the couch.

"Mornin', (Y/N)!" Sting declares, smiling. His spiky, blonde hair is a bit wilder then yesterday, but it's still cute on him. You think you can hear Rogue grumble a bit.

"We brought breakfast!" you announce, setting the bag of donuts on the desk.

"We found this awesome donut shop close by! We got to sample little pieces of their cinnamon cake donuts! It was so good!" Lector announces.

"Fro thinks so too! Fro knows Fro's friends will like it!"

"Thanks, (Y/N)! Donuts are the best!" yells the light dragon slayer as he starts to raid the stash.

"No problem. I also got some coffee, because I know some of us are going to need it," you state, glancing at Rogue, who has managed to sit up and is rubbing his eyes. The shadow slayer looks up and gives you a sleepy grin of thanks, causing your cheeks to warm slightly as you avert your gaze.

"We tried the coffee too. It was gross," Lector comments.

"Fro didn't like it either. Fro knows Rogue will like it, though!" Frosch says as he waddles up to Rogue, who scoops him up and hugs him.

A few minutes later, four boxes of donuts have been knocked out (courtesy of mostly you and Sting, and probably Frosch had Rogue not stopped him) and the coffee has been depleted.

"Oh, I need to tell you guys something that happened last night," you speak up after remembering your little adventure with the fake Natsu.

The two dragon slayers look up, their respective exceeds gazing at you from their laps.

"So, I kind of took a walk around the mansion last night -"  
"Wait, what?!" Sting asks, his blue eyes narrowing.

"You went alone?" Rogue questions, frowning.

"Yeah? So?" you reply, a bit startled by their reactions.

"You should never walk around a place like this alone late at night!" Sting admonishes. "What if the demons got to you? We wouldn't have known 'till morning!"

"You should have at least woken one of us up and told us," Rogue adds, crossing his arms.

"Dudes, chill. This isn't my first rodeo. I've been in more dangerous situations alone. I can handle it!"

"Yeah, maybe, but still. Just tell us next time, please? Even if you have to wake one of us up?" pleads the white dragon sitting across from you.

In all honesty, you're kind of taken aback by their reaction. They were…worried?

"Okay, I'll do that next time, don't worry. I'm sorry, I never meant to worry you two."

"Fro likes you! Fro doesn't want you to get hurt!"

"Yeah! I like you too!" Lector cries.

"We're in this together, (Y/N)," Sting states. "You can count on us."

"Yes. It won't do us any good if you get hurt. Trust us in our strength, too." Smiling, you stand and walk over to the two, who are standing side-by-side. They're just too cute right now. You sling an arm around each of their necks and pull them close.

"Thanks, guys. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

You take a moment and rest your head in between their touching shoulders. You can feel Rogue's tense muscles underneath your skin along with Sting's warm skin on the other side of your head. The exceeds manage to wiggle their way in, too.

Once the five of you pull apart, you frown.

"So, now that that's out of the way, what happened?" Sting questions, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Rogue takes a seat on one of the couches, his deep red eyes gazing at you. Both exceeds remain silent.

"Okay, so, I ran into an imposter of Natsu," you begin. You explain the brief encounter to the best of your ability.

"What?! It knew that you and Natsu talked before you left?!" Sting gasps. His mouth is slightly ajar, baby-blue eyes radiating confusion as he blinks a few times with his head tilted.

He looks so cute when he's confused.

"How's that possible?" Rogue mutters, looking away. "I've never seen a case like this."

"I know. This whole thing is just a mess," you reply, sighing.

"Okay. Hold on," Lector says. "Do any of you know how it could do that? Aren't ghosts and demons limited to one area unless they possess a host or something?"

"That's the issue," Rogue says. "Unless the owner had been possessed previously, then there's no way the spirit could have accessed information like that."

"Then that only leaves one option," you respond, crossing your arms. "There's got to be a mage involved somehow."

"Another mage? Who?" Sting mumbles to himself, placing his hand on his chin.

"I don't know, but we'll have to be sneakier from now on. Whoever it is likely knows who we are, where we're from, and what's going on. I wouldn't doubt it if they were listening to us as we speak."

Once the words escape your lips, an eerie silence falls upon the room.

"Rogue, I'm scared!" Frosch cries, looking up to his partner. Your heart aches at the sight of little tears forming in his big eyes.

"Frosch, everything's going to be alright," the shadow dragon says, scooping the exceed up into his embrace. "We're all here to protect you."

"Maybe we should drop Lector and Frosch off at Blue Pegasus for few nights? Aren't they the closest guild?" Sting asks, looking over to you.

"Yes. I have friends there, so it should work out," you reply, nodding.

"No! I want to stay with you, Sting!" Lector pouts.

"Sorry, little buddy. This mission is getting a lot more dangerous then we thought it would. I won't risk losing you again," Sting reacts, frowning and petting his friend on the head.

"I second that. You two can stay with us during the day, but we'll have you remain with Blue Pegasus for the night from here on until we finish," Rogue adds.

"Okay, then. As long as we can still help," Lector says.

You avert your gaze for a moment, trying to think of a way to catch whoever is doing this. You honestly don't think it's the owner doing it, since you hadn't sensed anything off with him when you'd spoken to him. He genuinely seemed concerned about all of this.

As of right now, you think your best bet lies in laying out a series of hidden magic circles - a different type than usual. This magic circle would enable the user to trap another person. But, how would get them on the ground without alerting the person?

Hm...

"Actually, let's go ahead and go to Blue Pegasus," you say, speaking up suddenly. Both of them move to look at you.

"Wait, but we still need to-"

"I know, Sting," you interrupt. "I think we should go ahead and drop them off."

"But-"

"Let's go, Sting!" Rogue speaks up, shooting Sting an odd glance. You think they have some kind of secret dragon slayer language or something, because Sting instantly stops objecting.

"Fine, then," he replies, giving you a questioning gaze. You simply tilt your head towards the door and the two stand and follow you.

Once you all exit the room, you instantly stop dead in your tracks. A cool breeze flutters through the hallway, making goosebumps dot your skin. Your stomach does flops upon receiving the end of an unfamiliar emotion.

"Do…do you guys feel that?" says Sting, looking over at the two of you.

"Yes," Rogue replies, body tense as he clutches on to Frosch.

Upon slowly turning around, you find that there's…something…there.

It's unnaturally tall, with elongated, slick legs as well as too-long arms and oversized hands with some fierce-looking claws. You can't quite make out its face due to shadow surrounding it.

"WHITE DRAGON ROAR!"

Sting breaks the tension with an immediate attack, the bright beam of white rushing towards its target. Through the blinding white, you can't make out whether or not the attack hit.

You get your answer once you feel something heavy connect with your torso, effectively slamming you against the wall. The air is knocked from your lungs as your head spins for a moment.

Forcing yourself to your feet, you find that your field of vision is limited due to mounds of a smoky substance floating around the room. The smoke is dark in color, but even so you can still get a vague idea of where the others are just by sensing their magical energies.

The creature from before suddenly materializes in front of you again, but you're prepared this time.

Frowning, you thrust your hands out, your magic successfully causing the monster to halt in its attack.

So these things are made of dark energy, you think. If I can control them, then that has to be it, right? If these were regular ghosts or demons, then I would actually have to fight rather than just control them.

You hear the other two shouting and grunting, so you assume there must be more. Gritting your teeth, you focus your next attack at the neck of this creature.

"Requip: Twin Blades," you state calmly, ignoring the newfound pains blossoming in both your head and stomach. The knives you'd used against Rogue's demons appear in your hand, and you effectively stab the thing in the chest. It gurgles sickeningly before it disintegrates into nothing.

That in itself is strange, because that's how ghosts are killed. How can a ghost be made of dark matter but still be killed like one?

Your thoughts are interrupted when the smoke simply vanishes into thin air, revealing a shocked Sting and an angry Rogue. The exceeds are flying around, trying to figure out what happened.

"Is everyone okay?" you question.

"Yes - wait, (Y/N), you're bleeding!" Sting yells, rushing to your side with Rogue following.

"It's not safe here," Rogue says. "We should go for now and make a plan."

"Okay," you state.

However, as Sting and Rogue sling their arms around you in order to support you, you manage to sneakily place a magic circle trap without anyone noticing.

…

You and the Twin Dragons along with the exceeds manage to make it to outskirts of the other side of the village, where they gently prop you up against a tree in order to view your wounds.

"What happened?" Sting asks, looking at the cut on your head. Rogue and the exceeds have disappeared in order to find a first-aid kit, you think.

"After you used your roar the first time, I lost track of the creature. I think it appeared behind me and slammed me into the wall."

"Dammit, I'm sorry. I'm too reckless sometimes," he states with a small, humorless chuckle. He wipes some of the blood away with his glove before spotting the tear in your shirt.

"Do you mind if I…?" he trails off, looking up to you.

"Go ahead," you reply. With that, he lifts your shirt up a little bit to see your stomach.

There's a gash in your back, you find out. You think that was from those nasty claws. The front of your body is definitely going to bruise, but you'll be okay.

"Be careful, part of this looks kind of deep," Sting says. You end up ripping off the ruined part of your shirt (which was just the lower half, thankfully) and pressing it against your back.

You release a groan. You didn't think it was that bad.

"Neither of you got hurt?" you ask, looking up to him.

"Not as badly as you did."

"It's just a cut! I've had worse."

"But still. You need to take care of it. We can't have it getting infected or anything."

You two are quiet for a moment before you chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Sting, you're terrible at reading signals."

He blinks a few times before grinning. "Guess I am, huh? I didn't even realize you were trying to get us out of there until Rogue started nagging me with that dumb expression."

Giggling, you try to sit up, only to have Sting gently aid you.

"Careful. We should probably get you to a healer soon…" he replies with a sigh.

"That won't be necessary. We found some healing bandages at the local magic shop," comes Rogue's voice and he and the exceeds jog into view.

"How is she?" Lector questions as Frosch hugs your arm with tears in his eyes.

"Alright. After we get her patched up, we'll be good to go!" Sting replies with his stupid smile in an attempt to cheer everyone up.

"Here. Sting, sit her up."

"I can do it!" you retort, frowning.

"Yeah, but you're not going to," Sting replies, voice uncharacteristically quiet as he lets you lean on his chest while Rogue applies the bandage. Soon enough, you feel healing magic swarm throughout your being.

You release a happy sigh into Sting's shoulder.

"Better?" Sting asks, grinning.

"Better," you answer, returning his idiotically-heartwarming smile.

"Alright, then. Let's head to Blue Pegasus before we do anything else," Sting says.

And with that, the five of you are off.

**[continue reading at Chapter 8 once it's published]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also, I'm planning a few new stories. Let me know in the comments which you'd like to see first!
> 
> 1) Laxus Dreyar x Dovahkiin!Reader
> 
> 2) Laxus Dreyar x JuraNeekis'Daughter!Reader
> 
> 3) Acnologia x Reader - this is one where she's in Crime Sorciere and is roommates with Midnight and Cobra :3 I love Acnologia so much...also...Crime Sorciere is soooo awesome :D


	7. Rakuen no Tou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3 I apologize if this chapter seems rushed...it's getting late where I'm at so I wanted to finish the chapter while I still had inspiration :D

"Good morning, boys!" you chirp happily as you waltz back into your temporarily-shared room clutching a bag of donuts. Frosch and Lector fly in behind you, each carrying cups of coffee.

"Mornin'!"

"Ugh…"

You laugh quietly before setting the goods down on the table and facing the two.

Sting looks as bright and cheery as ever, although you can tell he needs to tell you something important by the underlying unease settled within his gaze. Rogue, on the other hand, is still laying down on the couch.

"Yes, I love donuts! You're the best!" Sting shouts before digging in. You and the exceeds join in before Rogue gets in on the action as well.

Soon enough, the makeshift table is filled with early-morning chatter:

"Frosch, this is too much sugar. You can have the icing and I'll eat the donut. Deal?"

"Sting-sama! Do you like this coffee? I didn't really like it, but if you put a lot of sugar in it, then you might!"

"Yeah, it is pretty tasty if you add a bunch of sugar. Damn, these donuts are so good!"

"Fro thinks so too!"

You smile happily at their brief but meaningful exchanges. It's clear these four have spent years of their lives together from the way they interact with each other. In a way, you kind of feel like an outsider - after all, you're positive that they could get the job done on their own without your help.

You also wonder whether or not you are close enough to them to call them friends yet. Part of you thinks you are, but then again, with the level of intimacy the two share?

What do they even think about you?

"Oh, let's tell her what we found last night," Sting speaks up suddenly, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"What's up?" you question.

"So, after you two did your weird dark magic thing, we went to the room where it was located," Sting answers, arm moving down to dig around in a bag underneath the table.

"As it turns out, there was a strange symbol implanted on one of the walls. The darkness was gone, but this symbol was right in the middle of the wall. It was obviously written in a magical language," Rogue adds as Sting places a piece of paper with a sketch on it.

The shape itself heavily reminds you of Freed's runes. In fact, you'd venture as far to say that this was, indeed,  a Jutsu Shiki rune.

However, something about it's bugging you.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Rogue asks.

"I think so. It's…off, in a sense," you reply.

"Exactly. The amount of magic energy behind couldn't possibly have been created from whatever we're dealing with here. That means there's a wizard involved."

"Makes sense. What about the banging? Did you guys find anything out about that?"

"Well, I have an idea," Sting pipes up, standing and walking towards the wall. "Here, I remembered that there was a particularly loud band. But, something about the way it sounded made me wonder if there's something more to it."

"Like…a secret passage?" Lector asks, floating beside Frosch and Rogue, who are all gazing at the blonde with interest.

"Yeah. I think we should tear off the wallpaper and have a look."

"Alright, then. I don't think Sora would mind. He seemed pretty desperate," you note.

With that, Sting starts tearing down the wallpaper while the rest of you watch.

And what you see baffles you.

On the actual wall are dozens of Jutsu Shiki runes.

"What?" Rogue wonders.

"Hold on, I have an idea," you reply. Walking over to your bag, you bend over and pull out a communication lacrima.

You call one of your close friends at Fairy Tail. He picks up after a few rings, and his face is projected into the air.

"What do you want now, woman?"

You grin at the gruff voice of none other than the infamous Laxus Dreyar.

"Hey, man. Can you get Freed on the line?"

"Do I wanna know?"

You roll your eyes but smile anyways. "I'm on a job." 

"I know. Erza told me. Hold on."

"Okay."

The Twin Dragons remain quiet as the five of you listen to the muted ruckus of Fairy Tail as well as Laxus' distant voice searching for Freed.

"You called?" comes Freed's smooth voice a second later.

"Hey, Freed! We need your help with our quest," you say. His eyes widen in surprise.

"What's the matter?"

"Well, we've run into an issue. The next part of our mission requires us to interpret Jutsu Shiki runes. None of us really know how to do that."

"Us? You're not working alone?" Freed questions.

Your eyes widen upon realizing that you weren't anticipating meeting with the Twin Dragons.

"Oh…I just ran into some friends and we decided to do the job together."

"Oh, alright. Anyways, show me the wall."

A few minutes pass before he speaks again.

"It's saying that you'll need a specific item to get inside. It didn't clarify whether it was a key, code, or object. It seems rather abstract in that sense. It hints that you'll need not only this item, but a source of combined magic as well," Freed explains.

"Okay. Is that it?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Thanks so much! Tell everyone I said hi!"

"Tell Natsu-san I said I'm gonna fight him when we finish!" Sting yells, peering over your shoulder.

"Oh, it's…you. Yes, I shall inform him."

"Thanks a lot, man. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye."

With that, the lacrima conversation ends and you put it back in your bag.

"Alright. Let's get searching!"

**[continue reading at Chapter 9 once it's published]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also, I'm planning a few new stories. Let me know in the comments which you'd like to see first!
> 
> 1) Laxus Dreyar x Dovahkiin!Reader
> 
> 2) Laxus Dreyar x JuraNeekis'Daughter!Reader
> 
> 3) Acnologia x Reader - this is one where she's in Crime Sorciere and is roommates with Midnight and Cobra :3 I love Acnologia so much...also...Crime Sorciere is soooo awesome :D

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, even if you didn't really like it. If you liked it, consider commenting or leaving a kudo :D I'd appreciate it.


End file.
